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Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! Updated 2/5

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:37 pm
by Hoitash
Oddball wrote: I'm actually kind of curious about your timeline too at this point. Not just about the conspiracy stuff, but about how long they've been doing the gun crazy merc ... I mean "detective" business and how long its been since graduation.
Okay, here goes what I got so far:

Mystery One takes place ten years after high school graduation (2018 would be the year, I believe.)

Hisao and Co have been college graduates (presuming no Advanced degrees (I could see Lilly or Hisao going for Masters for the pay raise/more education)) for six years.

Kenji probably started his detective agency right out of college, while Hisao joined several years later once his family started (I figure he owed Kenji money for a mortgage down payment.)

Mystery Six takes place one year after Mystery One (The Halloween Special occurs shortly after this Mystery.)

Mystery Seven takes place a year after Mystery Six (IE, two years after One.)

I figure it took a year for the dust to settle and the aftermath to take full effect.

Mystery Twelve will take place one year after Mystery Seven (IE, three years after Mystery One.)

That's why I mention the seasons in each first part of each Mystery; they generally only do this crazy shit once every few months (thank God.)

Now, as for Kenji's conversion from feminist conspiracy to secret society nut...

I'm working on that for a prologue (not mystery related) but the gist of it is Kenji got the crap beat out of him by a woman (probably Emi) and decided to redirect his energy towards something less likely to get him physically assaulted (but still keep him paranoid.)

Rooming with Hisao in college I think helped temper him. While not necessarily stable, I do believe at heart Kenji is a good man capable of functioning in society (of course, that presumes he would want to. Again, Hisao.)

I'm trying to keep it kinda vague both for Rule of Funny and to let the reader muse for themselves how Kenji sorted himself out a bit (shock therapy, mushrooms, and a trusted male therapist are also likely contenders.)

Oh, and the fact that he'd have to actually attend his Criminology courses (the lab ones anyway.) That mighta helped, too.

We'll see how that works out later on; I suck at characterization (kinda obvious by now, I'd wager :))
LorSquirrel wrote:i just started reading this and i just found this part to be hilarious
Hoitash wrote: “Hmm, I remember something about the…Yakuza.”
Oh fuck.
laughed for thirty minutes
Thanks, glad you liked it :) Hope the later chapters don't disappoint.

(I shoulda changed the series title around Mystery Four and back at Mystery Eight-ish, but didn't. My bad, folks.)

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! Updated 2/5

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 11:15 am
by Hoitash
Admiral Ackbar, if you knew what would happen to your quote, would you have still uttered it?

Previous Chapter

Part Four: Confrontation


“Are you sure it's a trap?” Miki asked.

I nodded, “it makes sense. We come onto his turf, try and intimidate him to lower your interest rate-“

“Without any kind of viable counter-offer other than not getting the crap beaten out of him,” Kenji interjected.

I nodded again, “right, and on top of that, we offed three of his employees. It makes perfect sense for someone like him.”

Miki raised an eyebrow, “what, a lunatic?”

Kenji nodded, “yup.”

Took one to know one, I guess.

“The only question is,” Kenji continued, “whether the trap is a fatal one, or merely meant to be painful. Kneecapping all three of us sends a good message, keeps you alive to pay the debt, and gives him the bargaining advantage if he wants compensation for his thugs.”

“Either way we’re prepared,” I said, “since we know it’s a trap, we just need a good plan.”

“On the other hand,” Kenji said, “if he knows we know it’s a trap-”

I raised a finger to stop him, “the last time we played that game, you shot me.”

Kenji sighed and glared at me, “You really gotta let that go, man.”

“Anyway,” I continued after briefly returning the glare, “we just need a good plan.”

“Some food might help,” Miki added.

“So would… never mind,” Kenji was probably going to suggest a drink, but considering our present company, had decided to err on the side of tact.

Miki apparently noticed this and scoffed, “you want a drink, we can stop by my bar. It’ll be on the house; if Haruki asks, I’ll just say it’s cuz you’re old school friends.”

I glanced at Kenji, who nodded. Not being one to refuse a free meal, I agreed, too. We left the café and made the relatively short walk back up to Miki’s bar. Miki stepped in first, and we followed her in after an exchange of glances, since neither of us was quite sure what to expect.

What we found was a well lit place that looked more like a restaurant then a bar. A bar area was to the right, with a sign and some doors on double hinges not too far from the main entrance. A few couples and groups were scattered about. Most of them looked about five to ten years younger than us. I heard some sort of sporting event being televised in the bar room. The dark wooden walls were ornamented with some Japanese style paintings, and another style my pitiful efforts in Art Appreciation belatedly recognized as Brazilian. While we examined the décor, Miki was chatting with the hostess, a young woman with long brown hair dressed in a simple tucked in black shirt and matching pants.

“You wanna sit in the bar, or out here?” Miki asked us.

“Out here’s fine,” I said.

“Unless that’s a baseball game in there,” Kenji said, pointing to the bar room.

Miki shook her head, “football.”

“American or European?” Kenji asked.

“European,” Miki replied.

Kenji shrugged, “Out here’s fine, then.”

The hostess led the three of us to a small round table near the back. After placing down the menus, Miki bolted up to whisper something in her ear. The hostess paused to listen, and when Miki was done the waitress nodded and trotted off. The menu had an interesting mix of food items, but there was a seafood/chicken theme throughout.

Kenji lowered the menu to look at Miki’s left ear, “I take it your husband was from Brazil?”

“Close,” Miki said, smirking, “his mother was one of the emigrants who came back. She decided to infuse the place with her adopted culture to make it more unique. Seems to have worked, so we kept it. Whadda you think?”

After complimenting the mix, we went back to our menus. A few moments later, our waiter arrived and Miki immediately shot up to punch him in the arm. He was a bit taller than her, with lighter skin and short black hair.

“Guys, this is my man, Haruki,” Miki beamed at us as she flung an arm around his shoulder.

“Hi, and welcome,” he said, smiling and apparently used to affectionate shoulder punches, “Mio said you said you were back. I wasn’t expecting you for a few more hours, though.”

“I’m the night manager, he’s the day manager,” she explained to us.

“Although ‘manager’ is a bit generous,” Haruki chuckled, “generally she works as a hostess.”

“I multitask!” Miki countered, “Besides, you do all the real work, anyway. I just keep people happy.”

We placed our orders and Haruki retreated, but he came back shortly after and sat next to his wife.

“So,” Haruki said, “our hostess said your meals were on the house because you knew my wife in high school?”

I nodded, “we were in the same class. Well, she and I were, my associate Kenji was in a different class.”

“We did meet a few times,” Kenji stated, “usually because I thought she was a spy trying to determine how many cherry bombs I had stocked for the feminist invasion.”

“So you’d be Kenji Setou, then?” he asked.

He nodded, “indeed. You’ve heard of me?”

“She mentioned you a few times. You, too,” he added, glancing at me, “said you were a cute guy who fell for the shrinking violet in the back row.”

“Guilty as charged,” I stated, though Miki calling me cute was a bit of a shock. Then again, thanks to Naomi and her “Epileptic Charged Gaydar” I had spent most of the last decade thinking Miki was gay.

“Stop boring them with the past, Haru,” Miki grumbled.

Haruki smirked and glanced at me, “so, Hisao, what was Miki like in school?”

Miki palmed her forehead with her left hand and muttered a few choice profanities, some of which I think were in Portuguese.

I shrugged, “not much she hasn’t already told you, I’d imagine. Track and field star second only to Emi Kotobuki, and not very good at math.”

“Screw math, it’s-” Miki started, but her husband cut her off.

“-boring as hell,” Haruki finished, rolling his eyes, “hence why I handle the accounting.”

As dinner moved along, I picked up on why Miki had fallen for Haruki. He knew when to keep quiet, and when to put his foot down when it mattered. For her part, she would listen, though she’d complain the whole way.

Dinner was great, and after finishing up and Miki saying she had a quick errand to run, we waited for her by the entrance. Although just ducking out and dealing with the loan shark without her would be safer, easier, and make more sense, it was her problem, and she had a right to be involved. Besides, if we tried to stop her she’d probably punch me and go without us. On the way out Miki hugged and kissed her husband goodbye, and as we left the building she turned to give it a longing look.

I placed a hand on her shoulder, “don’t worry; we got this.”

“Damn straight!” Kenji added from behind us.

Miki nodded absently. I wasn’t entirely sure she heard us, but when I tugged her shoulder to get her moving again, she quickly started a long confident stride.

“So what’s our plan?” Miki asked, “And could it please be more involved then ‘shoot them all.’?”

“I’ll stop doing it when it stops working,” Kenji retorted.

“That was an extreme situation,” I stated, trying to assuage a now slightly disconcerted Miki.

Kenji grinned, “Necessity is the mother of ass-kicking.”

“That,” a downcast Miki interjected, “I agree with.”

I was partial to the part where we stopped the bad guy and didn’t die, myself. Despite Miki’s misgivings, or perhaps thanks to them, Kenji and I were quickly able to come up with a plan that was definitely the best we could come up with. Kenji wanted to go back to the office to get the shotgun, but relented when I reminded him we were trying to avoid a body count.

“You remember the plan?” Kenji asked as we approached the abandoned lot.

“Yeah,” I said, “you go around back, while I go into the trap while babysitting,” I glanced at Miki, “no offense.”

Miki shrugged and fiddled with her switchblade. She was using her left hand to constantly flip the small weapon open and closed. The sound seemed to be calming to her as she stared intently at the moving steel. I made a mental note to never get on her bad side.

Kenji nodded, “keep her alive, and keep him and his thugs occupied until I show up.”

I nodded. The plan was pretty simple. Miki and I would walk in and spring the trap. Kenji would break through the back door and sneak behind the loan shark and whatever thugs he had undoubtedly brought with him to take out whoever was trying to kneecap us. When the loan shark was defenseless, we’d persuade him that lowering the interest rate was in his best interest. Violently if need be. We could probably get him to wipe out the debt entirely, but Miki had insisted she pay what she owed him. We both respected that, so we let her have her way. This whole mess was her fault, after all. Well, maybe it was my and Hanako’s fault for not reaching out after high school. Either way, I was not looking forward to someone trying to shoot me again. There are some things you just don’t get used to.

The plaza we were going to was a series of old structures of wood and stone blocks painted beige, with a few large boarded up rectangular windows. While we cautiously mad our way to the front door, Kenji slithered off to sneak around the back, nearly tripping over an old piece of stray pipe in the process.

“We’re fucked,” Miki muttered.

“Have faith,” I said, “’Blessed is the mind too small for doubt.’”

Miki sighed, “Never had much use for religion.”

I smirked, “how about tabletop miniatures?”

That earned me a confused stare, which was better than her being nervous, at least.

The only front door still in place –the rest were boarded up- was metal with some glass squares built in, though at the moment the glass was replaced by plywood. I tested the door and, finding it unlocked, nodded to Miki. She nodded back, and with my hand as nonchalantly close to my revolver as I could get it, I opened the door.

The abandoned building was filled with piles of office supplies, construction equipment, and wood. Lots of wood, stacked in blocks around the walls or spaced out in the wide expanse of the building itself, reminding me of cover emplacements in a third person shooter. The walls were originally white plaster, but most of them had been gutted to get to the wires, exposing the wooden pillars and crossbeams normally concealed within, while the wires hung limply like the intestines of a disemboweled animal, when there were any wires at all. The high ceiling above us was filled with metal vents and pipes. A few fluorescent bulbs flicked and glowed, providing the only light in the building. The building itself was pretty open, and a single floor. At the back of the large room stood the loan shark, flanked by two conveniently close piles of boxes of chairs and boxed paper.

We slowly walked in and closed the door behind us. Fully inside the room now, I was able to see the back door in the back wall, to the left of all three of us. The loan shark had one of his hands near his side, which made me uncomfortable. I turned my head to tell Miki to stay behind me, but she was already doing so.

It was at this moment that I most lamented our lack of proper armament. Though explaining it would’ve been a bitch and a half, a Tesla grenade and pistol would have made this job so much easier. No sense regretting the past, so I mentally shrugged and took three slow, careful steps closer to the loan shark, Miki following close behind.

“Alright, we’re here,” I barked, smirking as my announcement made the loan shark jump, “now spring your trap and let’s do this.”

“You come into my office, kill my men, intrude on my business, and-” I groaned and pulled out my revolver, aiming it at his head.

“I have a rule against monologuing. So, I will ask you once: reduce the interest rate, or I remove the organ of your choice from your body!”

“You okay?” Miki whispered.

Honestly, I doubted it. I was probably directing my own guilt about abandoning Miki- my word choice, deal with it- and taking it out on the poor bastard in front of me. I had nearly ruined my relationship in high school with Hanako. Having not been there for one of our friends when she needed help was pissing me off.

“You bastard!” the loan shark ducked behind one of the piles of boxes and snapped his fingers, “Kill that fucker and shoot off both of that bitch’s hands!”

Damn drug addled punks with more money than sense. From behind both piles of boxes emerged two men in black suits. Both of them were armed with Uzi’s, which were naturally aimed at me.

“Okay, that’s my fault,” I said as the two thugs opened fire.

+++
Next Chapter

Obvious trap was obvious.

Now while they duke it out, I’m gonna go buy some bug bombs for my apartment. Those roaches are going to die slowly and painfully for being so creepy and elusive.

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! Updated 2/5

Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 10:08 pm
by LegyPlegy
Aside from the obvious and very true, (omg great chapter, keep writing... the usual, you know?) here are some of my comments C:
Hoitash wrote:Obvious trap was obvious.
Indeed :P
Hoitash wrote:Admiral Ackbar, if you knew what would happen to your quote, would you have still uttered it?
If I was him, hell yes. I'd even throw in something cool to make it that much better.
Hoitash wrote:“On the other hand,” Kenji said, “if he knows we know it’s a trap-”

I raised a finger to stop him, “the last time we played that game, you shot me.”
I swear to god, this back story sounds hilarious. Can't wait till (even if) you reveal what happened That Time At Tokyo..

Let's just hope it wasn't like The Night The Heat Went Out.
Hoitash wrote:Now while they duke it out, I’m gonna go buy some bug bombs for my apartment. Those roaches are going to die slowly and painfully for being so creepy and elusive.
Good luck with that. I absolutely hate insects. And rodents. And reptiles. And small mammals.

...

pretty much everything small and disgusting.

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! Updated 2/5

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 5:23 am
by Mirage_GSM
LegyPlegy wrote: And rodents.... And small mammals.
So... rodents and small mammals, huh? :)

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! 2/9 Update

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:40 am
by Hoitash
Rodent’s I don’t mind so much, except ninja squirrels. They must burn.

Speaking of which, let’s see how that loan shark is faring.

Previous Chapter

Part Five: Negotiation


I dragged Miki behind the nearest pile of boxes and wood as the bullets started cracking passed. Leaning against the pile, I took a quick glance at the two thugs. Their fire discipline sucked, so they’d run out of ammo pretty soon.

“Now what?” Miki asked, her switchblade ready in her right hand.

“We stick to the plan,” I said, “We just need to hold out until Kenji gets here.”

“What if the back way is guarded?” she asked.

I shrugged off her concern, “he can handle it.”

I waited for a lull in the firing to call out to the loan shark, “I don’t suppose we can handle this peacefully?”

“Sure, just forget about getting a lower rate!” the loan shark snapped, “And I want compensation for my men!”

“How much?” If I could avoid continuing the firefight, it was worth a shot.

“The same amount that alcoholic bitch owes me for her handjob!” he barked.

Nice word choice, you psychotic nut. Miki took exception to what he said, shouting, “that’s recovered alcoholic, you nutcase! And how the hell do you know about that?”

“You don’t think I don’t know about my clients?” he retorted.

It occurred to me during this chat that his thugs had stopped firing. I risked a glance from behind the cover to check their position. They had crouched behind two small stacks of wood, both of them to our right. The loan shark was close to the pile on the left that one of the thugs had appeared from. He had a black pistol out, but it was held at his side.

I turned to Miki, “how much did that hand cost?”

After Miki told me I quickly checked my heart. That was definitely an expensive prosthetic. I sighed and called out to the loan shark.

“There’s no way those three were worth that much if two private investigators could take them out,” I stated.

“Oh, so she hired you to negotiate with me?” the loan shark asked, “I see how it is. Hotheaded tomboy can’t keep her cool, so she-”

I fired my revolver at him. The shot flew passed his head and hit the wall, creating a small puff of plaster in one of the few intact walls of the building.

“What did I say about monologuing?” I asked.

“You fuckin’ prick! Kill them both!” the loan shark barked, “Fuck money, I want her hand mounted on my wall and his head on a pike for my office!”

Miki rolled her eyes, “that went well.”

I ducked away from the edge as the thug’s gunfire resumed. It was smacking into my defensive pile pretty hard. I didn’t know how much our cover could take, but it wasn’t a lot, which begged the question of where the hell was Kenji.

I told Miki to watch the back door on the left side while I waited for a chance to return fire. One of the thugs had stopped firing. Peeking around my cover as the other thug continued to unload ammo like it was going out of style, I saw the formerly silent thug dart closer to Miki and I, from his pile of cover to another pile almost across from us. I fired a shot at him and it hit his left leg. The thug yelped and tripped on the floor, his gun clattering a meter or so away from him.

“Kenji’s here!” Miki whispered to me, “He’s waiting inside the door- he just signaled toward us.”

“Good,” I said. I peered over my cover and made sure the shot thug was too busy groaning in pain to do anything.

“Get up, you fuckin’ coward!” the loan shark yelped from behind a pile of boxes.

The second thug was reloading, so I shot at him and managed to get a lucky graze on one of his hands. He swore and dropped his gun, which sent a few shots ricocheting towards me. I fired a second shot at his foot and he curled into a ball in pain.

“Damnit!” the loan shark yelled.

“You get what you pay for, fuckface!” Miki snapped.

“Please don’t antagonize him,” I requested.

Still in the open, the loan shark snarled, aimed his pistol at me, and fired. I ducked back behind the cover as the bullet whizzed past; unstable or not, he had good aim. As I leaned against my pile of cover, the boxes and wood collapsed and crumbled into a pile of debris.

“Crap,” I crouched down behind the remains as the loan shark fired another shot.

Miki ducked down, too, just in time to dodge the incoming bullet. I looked over at the back door. Kenji was leaning against the left pile of cover in view of us, but unseen by the now preoccupied loan shark. Again, going for the nonlethal option was making things harder; if we simply shot him, he probably wouldn’t be in a very good mood.

Kenji signaled in our general direction- he could probably tell where we were from the sound of my revolver- and I signaled back, before realizing he didn’t know exactly where I was, and even if he did, odds were good he wouldn’t be able to tell what I was signaling.

“Screw it,” I looked up over the cover. The loan shark was crouching behind a small stack of printing paper. He fired a shot at us and I ducked.

“Why isn’t Kenji doing anything?” Miki asked.

“Good question,” I looked over to Kenji, “hey, do something!”

Kenji jumped and looked over at us, “That you, man?”

I rolled my eyes, “no, it’s Townsend Harris.”

The loan shark fired at me and I fired back. After I had fired, Kenji, now certain where we were and that the plan wasn’t completely FUBAR’d, fired two quick shots at him. Both were wide, but it definitely kept the loan shark distracted, which was the entire point.

“So that’s where you’re partner went,” the loan shark snarled to himself, “how the fuck did you get past my backdoor guards?”

“I’m fuckin’ awesome, that’s how!” Kenji retorted, which earned him another shot from the loan shark.

I wasn’t sure how many bullets the loan shark had left –probably not many- but for the time being, we were at a stalemate. Whoever ran out of ammunition first was going to move for the thug’s submachine guns. Whoever did that would probably get shot by the opposing side. Kenji and I didn’t want to piss off the loan shark any more by hitting him –well, I didn’t- so I turned to Miki and sighed.

“Go sneak up behind him and grab him,” I instructed, “grab him, don’t cut him.”

“Can I stab him a little?” Miki asked with a grin.

I glared at her and she sighed, “alright, spoilsport, I’m going.”

“Keep him pinned!” I told Kenji.

“That’s the plan, man,” a grinning Kenji replied, “Now I just gotta get close!”

“Don’t worry about it,” I told him. I could see him raise an eyebrow towards me, but he didn’t say anything. The loan shark, meanwhile, was apparently too confused to shoot at us.

“You fucks are persistent, I’ll give you that,” he barked, “If my employees weren’t such useless incompetents, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“You need to work on your people skills,” I declared, “since you’re outnumbered now, how about we all put the guns down and talk this out like adults?”

“I don’t care how many of you there are1” he snapped, “either I get my money, or I get your corpses!”

“You really need to calm down, man,” Kenji said as he fired another shot.

“We are shooting at him,” I mused.

“Hey, he started it,” Kenji countered.

“I started it?!” the loan shark fired a shot that missed my fedora by a hair. Which was good, because I didn’t want another hole in it, “you kill my men, intrude on my business, and I started it?”

“Okay, we can all agree this is a bad situation,” I said, “the fact that you’re a psychotic criminal notwithstanding, we’ve all made some mistakes. However, if we could all calm down, I think I have a business proposal for you.”

“You know my terms!” he shouted.

Before anyone could say anything else, I heard the hard, dull smack of a punch to the back of a person’s head. Much less impressive sounding then in the movies, but still easily audible in the spacious room.

Peering above my cover, Miki had her switchblade held tightly to his throat. Telling Kenji it was safe, we both dashed over to the two before Miki did something permanent to the bastard, grabbing the two submachine guns along the way. On the way I heard the loan shark’s pistol clatter to the floor. When we were close, she forced one of his hands behind his back and shoved him onto his knees.

“Call me an alcoholic again,” Miki snarled, switchblade still against his neck.

“Miki, play time is over,” I said, holstering my revolver.

Miki sighed and folded the switchblade. She pocketed it and hefted the loan shark up, still holding one arm firmly behind his back. Kenji still had his revolver out, held firmly at his side.

The loan shark grunted and dusted himself off with his free hand, “let me guess, you want the debt eliminated?”

“I can pay my own damn debts,” Miki grumbled, “This whole mess is my fault anyway.”

“I concur,” the loan shark said.

“Please don’t aggravate her,” I implored, “we’ll settle for a reduced interest rate, and an understanding that you leave all of us alone.”

He nodded, “I never wanna see you two again. Hell, if it weren’t for the money, I’d never wanna see her again, either. None of you are worth this hassle, no offense.”

“None taken,” Kenji replied with a smirk.

“So we agree?” I stuck out my hand, and the loan shark grumbled and shook it. When we stopped shaking Miki hit him upside the head, sending him crumpling to the floor.

“Oops, my hand slipped,” Miki deadpanned.

Kenji shrugged, “I was gonna do that, anyway.”

“Let’s go before I cut off his balls,” Miki spat, practically jogging out of the office. Making sure the two thugs were still on the floor in pain, and carefully tossing the sub-machine guns into a far corner, after taking the ammo with us, Kenji and I followed.

+++
Next Chapter

This is what happens when you take the law into your own hands. Blood, tears, and pissed off criminals.

Sappy touchy-feely stuff will conclude this mystery. Because I can, that’s why.

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! 2/9 Update

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 9:46 pm
by LegyPlegy
Hoitash wrote:Because I can, that’s why.
Ftw!
Hoitash wrote:“You really need to calm down, man,” Kenji said as he fired another shot.

“We are shooting at him,” I mused.

“Hey, he started it,” I countered.
Not sure if this was intended. Unless Hisao's going insane from all those whizzing bullets, tesla grenades and Kenji rants...

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! 2/9 Update

Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 10:24 pm
by Hoitash
LegyPlegy wrote:
Hoitash wrote:“You really need to calm down, man,” Kenji said as he fired another shot.
“We are shooting at him,” I mused.
“Hey, he started it,” I countered.
Not sure if this was intended. Unless Hisao's going insane from all those whizzing bullets, tesla grenades and Kenji rants...
Fixed. I think it's more likely I'm the one going insane, but, then again, I'm pretty sure that happened a few years ago :wink:

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! Updated 2/12

Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:41 am
by Hoitash
It has been a long time since I wrote a six part mystery. I’m glad I was able to do it again. The foes of the Imperium shall burn for doubting my mad skillz! FOR THE EMPEROR!

Previous Chapter

Part Six: More Conversation


“That was a pain in the ass,” I grumbled when we left the old building. Kenji had reluctantly holstered his revolver, but he was keeping his hand close to it, just in case.

“It coulda gone worse,” Miki observed, grining and wrapping an arm around me, “thanks for keeping my ass safe. And for not letting me do something I’d regret.”

I shrugged, “no problem. Figure’d I owed you for losing track of you during college.”

Miki snorted, “You don’t owe me anything. But thanks.”

“All in all then, a job well done,” Kenji interjected from behind us, “Miki got what she wanted, Hisao got to salve his conscience from when you bolted after high school graduation, and I got to shoot something.”

“You might wanna get some help, man,” I suggested through a smirk. An upsetting thought made me sigh and add, “The only problem is we can’t get his ass thrown in jail. Not only could he make our lives very difficult -especially Miki’s- if we did anything, he’d know it was us who got him arrested.”

Kenji grinned and raised an eyebrow, “don’t be so sure, man. I think I can arrange something,” he frowned, “it’d be easier if someone would’ve let us eliminate the debt, rather than just lower the interest rate.”

Miki sighed, “this whole mess was my fault,” she raised her left hand up and clenched it, the tiny servos whining quietly as she did so, “my own impatience and… weakness, and pride…” she paused and sighed again, staring at her artificial hand for a moment before continuing, “I was so tired of the phantom limb pains, of everything taking longer to do, of having a useless limb just dangling there. Or worse, some prosthetic that just hung there, like a ghost, unfeeling and incapable of replacing what I lost…”

Miki sighed again, slowly lowering her hand, “it was my failings that got us here, so I think it’s only fair I atone for them.”

Kenji shrugged, “fair enough. Speaking of atoning, how about we get some dinner at your place and we get our gift certificates?”

Miki nodded, “no problem. I need to take over for Haruki anyway.”

“Didn’t we already eat dinner?” I asked as we kept moving back toward Miki’s restaurant.

Kenji scoffed, “call it a victory meal.”

“Normally I’d agree,” I said, figuring I’d drink the victory meal, “but I should probably call Hanako and head home.”

“You can stop in for the certificate and a drink, though, right?” Miki asked.

I mulled that over for a few seconds before nodding, “sure. I’ll just call her and tell her I’ll be heading home soon.”

“I need to call my wife, too,” Kenji said, “let Miya know I’ll be getting back soon, too.”

“Well aren’t you two model husbands,” Miki wrapped her arms around us and grinned as we kept walking down the sidewalk.

We both exchanged a glance and smirked, “yeah, we like to make up for all the gunfire,” I said.

Miki raised an eyebrow, “you mean this is a regular thing for you guys?”

“Comes with the job,” Kenji said with a grin, which was more or less the truth.

A few blocks later, Miki had let us free of her grasp and was back to constant chatter. Most of it was about her sons, and how she worried she and her husband were away from them too much.

“You could always hire someone else to run the place,” I suggested.

Miki nodded, “we will eventually. Until then, I just have to make sure we’re there for them as much as possible. Speaking of family, you two don’t be strangers anymore, okay? My place is a million times better than the Brass Wok. Bring the family; we have some rooms for private parties.”

Miki may not have been a close friend in high school, but she had made an impression. Hanako had appreciated her blunt and laid-back attitude once she had gotten used to it, and I had appreciated someone to talk to about guy stuff besides Kenji. Lilly found her casual attitude relaxing, even if the two had never gotten close. Miki vanishing had actually been what convinced me to help Kenji when he started seriously studying criminology. Helping people who had grown apart due to twists of fate seemed like an admirable thing to do. The fact I ended up owing Kenji money was just another reason to help him.

Though she’d probably never admit it, I could tell Miki regretted not keeping in touch. Possibly as much as I regretted not being able to find out what happened to her after graduation. It might be a bit awkward getting back together after ten years of no contact, but if the last day was any indication, it wouldn’t be an issue. As long as she wasn’t in a position where she’d want to shank somebody; I doubt I could rein her in so effectively in the future.

Getting back to reality, I finally answered Miki, “sounds good,” I said, “That goes both ways, though. Hanako really missed you. She was worried about you, and so was I. So I’ll talk to her and see if you can come over some time for tea.”

Miki smiled, “I’d like that,” she paused to think for a second, her left hand fiddling with her long hair, “as long as I don’t get involved in any more gunfights, that is.”

That made two of us.

END OF MYSTERY ELEVEN

+++

I never said it was long. Just a dash of closure and some happy endings. I’m a sucker for happy endings, sue me (please don’t.)

Next time on Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives!

A Yakuza informant that’s helped Kenji in the past comes to him for help. With organized crime a dying business, the various mobs are losing what order they had. Since they created the mess in the first place, the Detective Duo decide to help the informant and finish what they started. Unfortunately, the Yakuza’s version of settling things involves a sword.

Tune in next time for Mystery Twelve: The Final Mystery?

Same thread, same forum!

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! 2/16 Update

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 8:44 am
by LegyPlegy
Just posting to assure you you're not alone, but I don't want to be repetitive and say the same thing every post... (although it is true every time (how many times have I said that? :c))

Maybe I should add that in my signature or something..

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! 2/16 Update

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:07 am
by Hoitash
No matter how deep the wilderness from whence my voice comes, it shall be heard by those who desire to listen :).

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! 2/16 Update

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:07 am
by Hoitash
No one would have believed in the dawn of the twenty-first century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by awesomeness greater than man’s. Or that as mankind busied themselves about their various concerns, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded long dead famous writers with envious eyes, and slowly and surely, drew their plans against them.

Mystery Twelve: The Final Mystery?

Part One: The Client


With the beginning of another trimester, I spent a lot of time doing school related work while at the office of Kenji Setou’s private detective agency. Two nights a week I was there, and ever since Kenji’s son had been born, I was spending more time doing actual work, and less time eating pizza and drinking scotch. This particular Saturday, I was also going to be spending a lot of time doing things that would make me once again question what the hell I was thinking when I agreed to work with him.

Kenji himself was sitting behind the office’s large, dark wooden desk. The desk had some dings and dents in it, thanks to a firefight that had occurred a few weeks ago. Kenji was looking over some paperwork, his large, round glasses mere centimeters from the page as he alternated between running his hand through his black hair or over his red and gold scarf.

I looked up from the papers I was grading to ask Kenji if he was okay. He nodded stiffly and set the paperwork down.

“Just having a hard time focusing while I’m here,” he said.

“Kids have that affect on you,” I remarked.

Kenji nodded and closed his eyes, “I miss sleep.”

I rolled my eyes, “you never slept before the kid was born, why start now?”

That got a grin out of him. The grin slipped when someone knocked at the open door to our office.

“Hello,” the person said.

He was a young man in a slightly ragged looking black suit, with black hair and a thin beard. He had a thin cut over his left cheek, and the pinky on his left hand was artificial- I could tell by how it caught the light. It wasn’t augmetic, though, because it wasn’t very mobile. The man walked in and closed the door behind him.

“Welcome to Setou and Nakai Private Investigative Services, how can we help you?” I rattled off. The guy looked familiar for some reason. Kenji stood and leaned forward, trying to see the newcomer. The young man stepped forward until he was across from Kenji, and next to me.

“You remember who I am?” he asked.

Kenji leaned forward some more and looked the man over slowly. Eventually he nodded, his face grim, “my Yakuza informant. Never got a name.”

“I never gave one. May I sit?”

Kenji nodded and the two sat. As he did so I noticed the man had a holster under his suit jacket. I also remembered where I recognized him from. Three years ago Kenji and I had met with the man to help with a Yakuza related case. A former member of the Japanese mob had been captured by the Illuminati, and we’d been hired to retrieve him. That one case from two old classmates had started a chain of events that had brought me more headaches, gunshot wounds, and cuts and scrapes than I ever wanted to count. It also got me a ton of cash, but money was never very important to me.

Kenji sighed and rubbed his forehead, “whatever reason you’re here, it can’t be good, so please get to the point quickly.”

“A name or something would be nice, too,” I added.

The man looked me over for a bit, looking at my cheap brown suit, my weary face, and my eyes; the eyes of a man who had done and seen things no sane man had any right to have witnessed, committed, or accomplished. This seemed to satisfy him somehow, and he smirked.

“My name is no more. You may call me Kaze.”

“Uh-huh,” I was getting really tired of organized crime.

Fortunately they were a dying breed. Once Kenji and I had helped get the world’s Secret Societies to wipe each other out, the world’s mobs had moved in on their turf. Between the police and a lot of spec ops units, there weren’t many of them left, either. None of which eased my mind as to why this man was here.

“Simply put,” he said, facing Kenji to answer him, “I need your help.”

Kenji raised an eyebrow, “how about unsimply?”

Kaze nodded, “very well. The Yakuza have discovered my loyalties are divided. They have marked me for death. Well, the survivors have,” the former informant chuckled lightly, “so far I have managed to deal with whomever they’ve sent after me. The last time, however, they took a piece with me.”

Kaze raised the hand with the artificial finger. When he closed his hand into a fist, the pinky barely moved. If it wasn’t for the muscle that connected the pinky and ring finger, it probably wouldn’t have moved at all.

“I haven’t adjusted to the new digit yet,” he stated, “but that it irrelevant. You two have done much since we last met in person. You wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without my help.”

Kenji scoffed, “so you want our help to remove the Mark? Are you out of your mind?”

“If he’s not, he’s going to be out of this office pretty damn soon,” I declared, rising slowly from my chair, “I’ve done a lot of crazy shit over the last three years. I’ve dealt with the Mafiya, Illuminati, power armor, hell, even aliens and werewolves. None of it was traceable back to me and my family though,” except the alien, but I had protection from that, “but you, here, endangers all of them. Get out.”

Kaze sighed, “Your families are safe; quit whining. The Yakuza can’t afford undue attention to themselves right now. Murdering a prominent science teacher and writer, or their families, would certainly attract such attention.”

“He has a point, man,” Kenji said.

I sighed and relaxed a little, settling back into my chair, “fair enough, but, if it comes down to it, I’m not above handing you over to them.”

Kaze nodded, “understandable.”

“How do you expect us to help you, anyway?” Kenji asked.

“Do you want the simple explanation or the complex one?” Kaze asked.

“The complicated one,” I said, “we’ve never had good luck when things were simple, and they never are simple, anyway.”

Kaze nodded again, smiling lightly at my statement, “fair enough. The Syndicate I was aligned with discovered I was selling information to third parties. As a result, they marked me for death. However, another Syndicate owes me a favor after I generously gave them some information for ‘free.’ If I can have the Mark removed, the second Syndicate will take me in and protect me. I can then send the information I still have stored to the police, thus destroying both Syndicates, which, by my estimates, are the last two functioning Yakuza factions of note.”

Kenji nodded, “bold plan, but what happens if they find out you sold them out?”

“And what about when you do sell them out after having the Mark removed?” I asked.

“If I get the Mark removed first, I can flee to the Caribbean and not have to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder,” Kaze shrugged, “that’s the hope anyway.”

Kenji ran a hand over his scarf, thinking, “alright, but where do we come in?”

“I want you two to negotiate for the removal of my Mark.”

“No,” we both said.

Kaze blinked, “I can pay you, you know.”

“Not the point,” Kenji said, “I’m sick of the mob; Russian, Sicilian, Japanese, doesn’t matter. I have a family now; I have to pick my battles. This is a battle that cannot be won.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Kaze said, “I have a plan that will guarantee your safety during the negotiations. All you would have to do is lay out my terms to them, and haggle with them until they agree to something as close to my proposal as possible.”

Kenji sighed and pinched his nose, “the only reason, and I mean only, man, reason I’m going to listen to you now is because of how much help you’ve been over the years.”

Kaze smiled, “I was hoping you’d take that into consideration.”

“We promise nothing,” I declared, glaring at the former Informant.

Kaze nodded and told us both his plans and the terms he wanted from the Yakuza, as well as how willing he was to bend on those terms. Kenji’s face was hard to read, but I’m pretty sure he was considering it. As much as I didn’t want to have anything to with organized crime again for the rest of my life, the former Informant was giving us an opportunity to wipe them out for good. Granted, someone else might move in, but that’s what the police were for.

“Get to the part where we’re protected,” Kenji said when he was almost finished explaining.

Kaze shrugged, “you have copies of Jigoro Hakamichi’s data. The vast majority of it is obsolete, but it still contains enough information on enough surviving members of the Yakuza, Mafiya, and the Families to make things very unpleasant.”

“And the honor code prevented anyone from coming after him,” I stated, “except his own people, of course.”

Kaze nodded, “indeed; for that, there’s good old fashioned blackmail. Both of which, by extension, protect both you and your families.”

I slowly nodded, “I don’t suppose they’re also scared Jigoro and his daughter would finish them off after someone whose saved his life -twice- meets a ‘mysterious disappearance’?”

Kaze smirked, “that, too.”

While I’d pay to see Shizune and Jigoro slice and dice the last of the Japanese mob, helping Kaze was seeming more and more doable, if not necessarily easy. I turned to Kenji, who had his hand on his spleen. The thing had gone haywire since his son Hisato was born, but now it was starting to calm down again. He didn’t look enthusiastic about the prospective job, either, though.

“What do you think?” he asked me.

I sighed and shrugged, “honestly, I’m not sure. It’s a good opportunity, but things could fuck up real easy.”

Kenji nodded, “exactly.”

Kenji leaned back in his chair and sighed. He looked up at the ceiling, blinked once, then leaned forward and started leering at Kaze.

“We’ll take the job.”

+++

I’m sure this job will go completely according to plan, and no bad things will happen ever.

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! 2/16 Update

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:26 am
by griffon8
Hoitash wrote:I’m sure this job will go completely according to plan, and no bad things will happen ever.
I'm glad to hear that! I was worried for a moment there.

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! Updated 2/23

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 6:31 pm
by Mirage_GSM
The Yakuza can’t afford undo attention...
undue
I can then send the information I still have stored to the police,
Why not send it right now?

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! Updated 2/23

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 6:58 pm
by Hoitash
Fixed, thanks for that, and as for:
Mirage_GSM wrote:
I can then send the information I still have stored to the police,
Why not send it right now?
Redundancy in case things fall through with the police and a bargaining chip during negotiations. He can offer up the info in exchange for the removal of the Mark. No one will believe its the only copy, but the Yakuza would be honor bound to give him the benefit of the doubt -doubting a man's honor is a dueling offense, after all.

I like my organized crime Lawful Evil style, with a hint of old-school honor. Makes things more fun that way.

Re: Hisao and Kenji- Master Detectives! Updated 2/23

Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:17 pm
by CptSalsa
Is this really the last one? :cry:
“Kids have that affect on you,”
I'm pretty sure it should be effect. Don't cop-out and say it's how he talks. I just think it looks bad when I read through and a science professor should never get those two words wrong.
“Uh-huh,” I as getting really tired of organized crime.
Probably should be: “Uh-huh,” I was getting
Well, the survivors have,” the former Informant chuckled lightly, “so far I have managed
Not a very big one, or very noticeable. But the I is capitalized and it ruins continuity because informant wasn't capitalized before.
“And the hnor code prevented anyone from coming after him,”
Guess. Or not. Honor is spelled wrong.

I'm also annoyed how you don't capitalize the start of most sentences in quotations after words. I also cannot describe it. Here are some examples. However, it's just the way I was taught and the way other publications present their work.
Kenji sighed and pinched his nose, “the only reason, and I mean only, man, reason I’m
The "the" should be capitalized.
not have to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder,” Kaze shrugged, “that’s the hope anyway.”
I might be wrong, but the shrug should indicate a pause. And a sentence after a pause is always a new sentence. "That's" should be capitalized.

If you don't want to change it though I'll be fine, I actually won't. but then again I don't think anyone else will care anyway.